Once again, the Senate's "Grand Bargainers" have gone behind closed doors and struck a deal to shove a massive guest worker amnesty bill down the throats of the American people-despite their overwhelming opposition. Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that the Bush-Kennedy bill would be brought back to the Senate floor next week. Unlike the well-publicized press conference that unveiled the "grand bargain" back in May, last night's announcement was made by the leaders in a brief joint statement: "We met this evening with several of the senators involved in the immigration bill negotiations. Based on that discussion, the immigration bill will return to the Senate floor after completion of the energy bill."

The revival of the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill was not a surprise to political observers, as Senate staffers had warned that the bill's proponents were engaged in urgent back room negotiations to develop a finite list of amendments. An agreement on amendments was demanded by Majority Leader Harry Reid as a condition of bringing the bill back to the floor to ensure that the bill was not filibustered with endless debate. Late Wednesday and early Thursday, word leaked out that a list of 20-22 amendments had been agreed upon-approximately half authored by Republicans and half authored by Democrats.

Then, Thursday afternoon, President Bush gave a speech to the Associated Builders and Contractors at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C, where he announced that he would support immediate funding for certain border security measures found in the trigger provision of Section 1. That funding will be added by a newly-drafted amendment authored by Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) that would essentially borrow $4.4 billion dollars from the government's general fund to immediately spend on the trigger. The money would then be repaid through the fine and fee money generated by the amnesty program in Title VI of the bill. Smiling to the audience, the President declared, "We're going to show the American people that the promises in this bill will be kept."

Interestingly, however, the President (who by the way attended the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast this morning with Senators Kennedy and Martinez) did not explain to his big business friends his sudden enthusiasm for funding border security measures. He did not explain why he has not shown such dedication during the last six years of his presidency to enforcing our immigration laws. Nor did he mention that the language of the bill already requires the fees and fines from the amnesty program to pay for carrying out the provisions of the bill. Thus, the $4.4 billion he is promising is not new money.

What is new, however, is that the money is being fronted by the taxpayers to pay for the trigger provisions of the bill. While that is in theory a good thing, all the money in the world won't fix the problem of an arrogant Administration that refuses to enforce the law. For example, before the elections last fall, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 and appropriated $1.2 billion dollars to build the 700 miles of fencing mandated by it. Almost one year later, the Administration has only 11 miles of fence to show for it.

Members of Congress were quick to react to the President's new promises. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) responded, "I appreciate the effort to fund border security, but there's simply no reason why we should be forced to tie amnesty to it," (Washington Post). Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said, "Only in Washington would people believe that throwing money at the problem is going to solve it….This is a blatant attempt by senators to extort votes so they can fast-track an amnesty plan," (Washington Post).

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) said, "The idea that we will have border security only if it's paid for by illegal immigrants is unacceptable," (New York Times).

Indeed, the New York Times reports that Senators are feeling the pressure from the critics of the bill. Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS), who supports the bill, said that, Senate Republican leaders may try to rein in "younger guys who are huffing and puffing against the bill."

Please do not let Senate Leadership — Republican or Democratic — cram this guest worker amnesty bill down the throats of the American people.

When the bill comes back to the floor, there will be two critical votes. The first critical vote will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed. Generally speaking, this is equivalent to a vote on whether the Senate can proceed on the bill. If this motion fails, the Senate cannot take up the bill again. If this motion passes, the Senate will take up the bill and debate amendments. Then (probably after a day or two) there will be a second critical vote, which will be a cloture vote to end debate on the bill. If this vote fails, the Senate cannot conclude debate on the bill and will not be able to move to a vote on final passage.

FAIR is urging all members, activists, and friends to call their Senators and urge them to vote NO ON BOTH CLOTURE VOTES. Please tell them that A VOTE FOR CLOTURE IS A VOTE FOR AMNESTY!!!!! Please let your Senators know that the American people want the enforcement of our laws-not guest worker programs and not amnesty. If you can, please visit the district offices of your Senators and Representatives and tell them the same in person or leave a hand-written note, so they know that the message is coming from a real constituent, not a special-interest group.

It has been the overwhelming response from constituents like you that made the difference on the Senate floor last week. WE NEED YOU TO REDOUBLE YOUR EFFORTS!!!

It's all up to us. If we call our Senators and pressure them, they will vote against the Amnesty Bill

Nobody should care what that drunken lunatic George W. Bush says. He's a lame duck and no Senator in his right mind is going to outrage his voters for the sake of a lame (and stupid) duck.

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Call the Senators in the list below to fight this evil bill:

Bush thinks he can strong-arm 15 of these 19 Republicans into changing their mind on the amnesty bill. He wants to “see you at the bill signing.” Target these 19, and tell them not to give into Bush’s plan to ruin our country!

It is estimated that 12-25 Americans are killed everyday by illegal aliens. The death toll exceeds that of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This number represents deaths only and does not include crimes such as identify theft, rape, and child-molestation.

What would that May 1st look like without illegal immigration? There would be no one to smuggle across our southern border the heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines that plague the United States, reducing the U.S. supply of meth that day by 80%. The lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise die a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day. Another 13 Americans would survive who are otherwise killed each day by uninsured drunk driving illegals. Our hospital emergency rooms would not be flooded with everything from gunshot wounds, to anchor babies, to imported diseases to hangnails, giving American citizens the day off from standing in line behind illegals. Eight American children would not suffer the horror as a victim of a sex crime.

On the negative side, the price of a pound of tomatoes might go up from $0.79 to $0.80. That is unless you have a garden. But I’m guessing that the Mexican drug lords are not taking May 1st off. Neither will the 11,000 illegal invaders that pour over our border every other day of the year. It is a safe bet that the U.S. Border Patrol will have a very busy “Nothing Gringo Day.”

Since September 11th, it remains true that OBL is the greatest threat to America. I will leave it to the reader to decide if the greatest threat is Osama bin Laden or the Open Borders Lobby. The emerging cheap labor “ruling class” in America is the strongest supporter of amnesty for illegals. Their anti-American “new servant class” has chosen to boycott them; the very definition of irony. On May 1st, Primero de Mayo, Americans will observe, as illegal immigrants celebrate, “Bite the Hand That Feeds You Day.” SOURCE

Numbers USA members - don't forget to check your Action Buffet! I whipped out and sent off 4 waiting faxes this evening. I let Bush and Feinstein have it once again, not that those two will budge.

If you don't have a Numbers USA account, please get one, as these next few days will be extremely crucial! Everyone, please call and fax like there's no tomorrow... because there might not be should this shamnesty pass!

I have been calling every day. And I have been calling not just my two Senators but also anyone who could be on the fence regarding a vote for amnesty. NumbersUSA provides a list of these key Senators and I would encourage everyone to sign up and makes these calls. We have to stop this one dead in its tracks.

Fifteen Flip in Senate -- Amnesty up for another vote -- New talking points for phone calls FROM INSIDE THE SENATE, WE HAVE SOME DETAILED NEW TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR PHONE CALLS HAVE THE MOST IMPACT. SEE BELOW.

FRIENDS, WE NEED A NEW SET OF PHONE CALLS TODAY.

Senate Democratic Leader Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Republican Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) have announced that they have a deal to resurrect the S. 1348 Bush/Kennedy Comprehensive Amnesty Bill.

Several days of voting on amendments could start as early as next Tuesday.

That means that McConnell believes he has FLIPPED 15 of the 38 Republicans who voted NO on cloture on the bill a week ago. By producing 15 more Republican YES votes, McConnell could pass cloture which would end the filibuster and allow the amnesty to pass.

We do not yet know the identities of the FLIPPIN' FIFTEEN. It is quite possible that they will not divulge they have flipped back to a YES vote until that vote actually occurs.

The Senate amnesty-guestworker bill that's in its death throes doesn't deliver a solution. It only worsens the problem.

Alien lawbreakers are not only pardoned for their immigration lawbreaking, ID fraud and other offenses, they get rewarded with the object of their intention: keeping the job they came here to steal. They get their relatives with them.

What do the "triggers" require before opening the floodgates even wider to the hordes?

Second, a pittance of the border barriers and personnel needed to really secure the border. A 2,000 mile southern border, a recent law requiring 800 miles of fence, but a "trigger" for just 370 miles.

These are some of their findings six years after 911 ... and they still won't close our borders, deport illegals, prosecute employers who hire illegals --- all while spending our tax dollars .... all they want is amnesty.

(1) It is the obligation of the Federal Government of the United States to adequately secure the Nation's borders and prevent the flow of undocumented persons and illegal drugs into the United States.

(2) Despite the fact that the United States Border Patrol apprehends over 1,000,000 people each year trying to illegally enter the United States, according to the Congressional Research Service, the net growth in the number of unauthorized aliens has increased by approximately 500,000 each year. The Southwest border accounts for approximately 94 percent of all migrant apprehensions each year. Currently, there are an estimated 11,000,000 unauthorized aliens in the United States.

(3) The border region is also a major corridor for the shipment of drugs. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center, 65 percent of the narcotics that are sold in the markets of the United States enter the country through the Southwest Border.

(4) Border communities continue to incur significant costs due to the lack of adequate border security. A 2001 study by the United States-Mexico Border Counties Coalition found that law enforcement and criminal justice expenses associated with illegal immigration exceed $89,000,000 annually for the Southwest border counties.

(5) In August 2005, the States of New Mexico and Arizona declared states of emergency in order to provide local law enforcement immediate assistance in addressing criminal activity along the Southwest border.

(6) While the Federal Government provides States and localities assistance in covering costs related to the detention of certain criminal aliens and the prosecution of Federal drug cases, local law enforcement along the border are provided no assistance in covering such expenses and must use their limited resources to combat drug trafficking, human smuggling, kidnappings, the destruction of private property, and other border-related crimes.

(7) The United States shares 5,525 miles of border with Canada and 1,989 miles with Mexico.

Even Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has confirmed my theory by stating that without illegal immigration, America would be in the midst of another Great Depression!

I believe that corporate America and their puppets in Washington have been intentionally opening the borders and under-enforcing our existing immigration laws to try to prevent the full collapse of the American economy, which is due to their actions.

By hyper-inflating consumer and labor markets, they are propping up the banks, the housing market, and many other industries.

While this may seem like a great short-term fix for the economy and the corporations, it is against the law, against the US Constitution, and against the will of the vast majority of America's legal citizens. They are importing millions of people that do not like America!

President Bush occupies the same place in the repeats of history as President Hoover, however we have a boogeyman to blame for the economic failures instead of the politicians and corporate elites in America.

Gheen also pointed out:

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The Big Money is unhappy because over 35 states have passed laws to crack down on illegals and hundreds of cities and towns are moving to protect our communities by doing the same. The big corporations need S. 1348 to try and stamp out the political revolt on the local level.

If the amnesty bill is approved, the Heritage Foundation predicts the cost to taxpayers will 2.5 trillion dollars over the next ten years (above what the immigrants pay in taxes). This includes all of the chain migrants that also will be given US welfare and social benefits.